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Changing his routine

In consecutive 20-17 losses during 2009, Brown missed field goals that could have forced overtime.

“I had a long talk with him (after the season),” Kubiak said. “I've really left him alone this past month. I know he's working extremely hard. I've had people tell me that.

“I know he's changed some of his routine. He went to some different routines as far as how he works and who's he working with. I think he's doing everything to address his issue, and that's good enough for me. He's never been a problem, work-wise. That's never been an issue with him.”

When Brown missed field goals, he had the distance, so it wasn't about losing leg strength. That meant it was mechanical, mental or a combination of both.

“It wasn't like he was short,” Kubiak said. “Kris was killing the ball. He just missed it a little left, a little right, those type of things. It wasn't like he wasn't kicking the ball well.”

Kubiak would like nothing more than to see Brown keep his job and kick the way he has for most of his career, including excelling in pressure situations. But Kubiak has to prepare for the best and worst.

“We believe in Kris,” Kubiak said. “He's had a great career, but he struggled, especially in the second half of the season. We're going to give him every opportunity to come back and kick the way he's kicked for us before, but we have to create some competition, and nobody knows that better than Kris.

“Our game's about being accountable and doing your job. We're going to do everything we can to get him back to where he was.”

Drafting a kicker unlikely

But no matter how well Brown kicks in practice, no matter how well he performs in game-like situations, no one is going to know for sure if he's all the way back until he connects in regular season. And he has to do it on a consistent basis.